Attempted 1st-degree murder trial gets underway

Kadrian Hamilton, right, confers with his defense attorney, Michael Johnson, left, during his attempted first degree murder trial at the Marion County Judicial Center in Ocala, Fla. on Wednesday, March 12, 2014. Hamilton, 24, is accused of critically shooting handyman Gary Hill, then 50, at a local horse farm on New Year's Eve 2011.

Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 12:45 p.m.

Last Modified: Wednesday, March 12, 2014 at 12:45 p.m.

On a winter morning in 2011, Gary Hill lay sleeping in his two-bedroom compact white home on an Ocala farm when loud banging on the patio door jarred him from sleep. He opened the door to find a man he now identifies as Kadrian Hamilton.

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“He says where's my (expletive) money and he pulled a gun out and that's when he shot me,” Hill testified Wednesday morning as the first witness in Hamilton's attempted first-degree murder trial.

Hamilton is also charged in the case with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.

Hill stood up in front of the six jurors and pointed to his abdomen, shoulder and head — all areas of his body punctured by bullets.

According to Assistant State Attorney Erin Walters, Hill had purchased drugs from Hamilton in the past.

“For $150, Kadrian Hamilton attempted to kill Gary Hill that day,” Walters said in her opening statement. She is prosecuting the case with Nick Camuccio.

But defense attorney Michael Johnson pointed to testimony from David Rasnick, a Marion County sheriff's patrol deputy at the time, who spoke with a barely conscious Hill soon after the shooting.

“… when asked who shot you, he stated Kevin Franklin,” said Johnson in his opening statement.

The name is much different than the 24-year-old defendant's.

“You'll also be shown evidence Kadrian Hamilton was never found with a firearm and when all of the evidence comes in we believe you'll find Mr. Hamilton was not at the McGinley farm on Dec. 31. He was with his stepfather working in Ocala,” Johnson said.

A few hours later the jury heard from Hamilton's stepfather, Joe Smith, the first of three defense witnesses.

Smith, a self-employed mechanic, told the jury he took Hamilton with him to install a transmission in a woman's car. But he couldn't exactly remember the date more than three years later and couldn't remember the woman's last name. He said he wouldn't lie to save his stepson.

Lastly, the defendant took the stand. During his vague, confusing and barely audible testimony he stated that the woman with the transmission issue was Smith's sister.

Hamilton denied knowing anyone involved in the case, including a former girlfriend and her mother and her mother's boyfriend, and the victim, who all testified that they were in contact with him around the time of the shooting.

When Camuccio asked Hamilton if he had ever been convicted of a felony, Hamilton repeatedly asked what convicted meant, and recalled only being arrested twice.

Hamilton has been convicted of five felonies.

During the state's case, Ashley Crandall testified to being Hamilton's girlfriend at the time of the shooting and said she accompanied Hamilton to Hill's house.

“I remember Gary opening the door,” she testified. “I seen Gary and then I looked back down and I heard shots fired.”

Crandall testified on cross examination that she was surfing the Internet from her phone throughout the brief visit.

“I looked back up and Gary was on the ground and Kadrian was coming back to the car,” she told the court.

She said she saw Hamilton get back in the car and put a gun on his lap before pulling away from the home.

Richard McGinley employed Hill to do maintenance work on the farm. McGinley described for the jury what he witnessed in 2011 at the farm, which is located in the 5000 block of Southwest County Road 484. He said he heard several popping noises and when he looked towards Hill's residence he saw a young black male run from the back of Hill's house and get into the driver's side of a maroon colored car and speed off down CR 484 heading east.

McGinley found Hill on the back patio.

“He was laying on his side and he was kinda gurgling,” McGinley testified. “Basically, he had three different colored bloods just gushing out of him.”

“It was a pretty gruesome sight, kinda traumatic,” McGinley said. “Looked like he had a bullet protruding from his forehead.”

Hill, age 50 at that time, had been shot four times.

McGinley called 911 and Hill was air-lifted from the farm to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where he was placed on life support. He was released about three months later.

On cross examination, Johnson elicited from McGinley that it was not uncommon for Hill to ingest alcohol. Johnson alluded to the fact that Hill's recollection of the morning's events could have been cloudy due to a night of drinking.

On cross examination of Hill, Johnson pressed him as to why, if he gave the incorrect perpetrator's name to authorities, he didn't correct his statement.

“I don't know why I didn't call them. I was really scared about everything that happened anyway,” Hill said in a low southern drawl.

Shell casings were found close to the patio, but Johnson said the technician could not tell from her work on the case what type of firearm they had come from or if they were fired from the same weapon.

The state believes Hamilton borrowed the maroon car from Crandall's mother, Julie Shartzer.

Shartzer took the stand and testified about giving Hamilton permission to use her 2001 maroon two-door Chrysler Sebring that morning and asking him to return it shortly because she had work.

On cross examination, Johnson pointed out that Shartzer didn't remember giving Hamilton the keys and didn't hear the vehicle leave or return.

Troy Rice, Shartzer's boyfriend, testified to noticing a change in behavior in Hamilton after the shooting occurred, saying he noticed that a typically laid back Hamilton seemed agitated and in a hurry.

Rice said Hamilton asked him for a ride into downtown Ocala and said they talked on the way.

“He asked that we drop his belongs off at his mother's house,” Rice testified. “He stated that we need to clean out the garage and park the car in it for a few days.”

During the day, Hamilton, clad in a lavender dress shirt, purple tie and dark slacks, sat quietly next to Johnson. He fidgeted with his hands, leaned back and smiled when his relatives took the stand, and covered his face from a photographer's lens.

<p>On a winter morning in 2011, Gary Hill lay sleeping in his two-bedroom compact white home on an Ocala farm when loud banging on the patio door jarred him from sleep. He opened the door to find a man he now identifies as Kadrian Hamilton.</p><p>“He says where's my (expletive) money and he pulled a gun out and that's when he shot me,” Hill testified Wednesday morning as the first witness in Hamilton's attempted first-degree murder trial.</p><p>Hamilton is also charged in the case with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.</p><p>Hill stood up in front of the six jurors and pointed to his abdomen, shoulder and head — all areas of his body punctured by bullets.</p><p>According to Assistant State Attorney Erin Walters, Hill had purchased drugs from Hamilton in the past.</p><p>“For $150, Kadrian Hamilton attempted to kill Gary Hill that day,” Walters said in her opening statement. She is prosecuting the case with Nick Camuccio.</p><p>But defense attorney Michael Johnson pointed to testimony from David Rasnick, a Marion County sheriff's patrol deputy at the time, who spoke with a barely conscious Hill soon after the shooting.</p><p>“… when asked who shot you, he stated Kevin Franklin,” said Johnson in his opening statement.</p><p>The name is much different than the 24-year-old defendant's.</p><p>“You'll also be shown evidence Kadrian Hamilton was never found with a firearm and when all of the evidence comes in we believe you'll find Mr. Hamilton was not at the McGinley farm on Dec. 31. He was with his stepfather working in Ocala,” Johnson said.</p><p>A few hours later the jury heard from Hamilton's stepfather, Joe Smith, the first of three defense witnesses.</p><p>Smith, a self-employed mechanic, told the jury he took Hamilton with him to install a transmission in a woman's car. But he couldn't exactly remember the date more than three years later and couldn't remember the woman's last name. He said he wouldn't lie to save his stepson.</p><p>Lastly, the defendant took the stand. During his vague, confusing and barely audible testimony he stated that the woman with the transmission issue was Smith's sister.</p><p>Hamilton denied knowing anyone involved in the case, including a former girlfriend and her mother and her mother's boyfriend, and the victim, who all testified that they were in contact with him around the time of the shooting.</p><p>When Camuccio asked Hamilton if he had ever been convicted of a felony, Hamilton repeatedly asked what convicted meant, and recalled only being arrested twice.</p><p>Hamilton has been convicted of five felonies.</p><p>During the state's case, Ashley Crandall testified to being Hamilton's girlfriend at the time of the shooting and said she accompanied Hamilton to Hill's house.</p><p>“I remember Gary opening the door,” she testified. “I seen Gary and then I looked back down and I heard shots fired.”</p><p>Crandall testified on cross examination that she was surfing the Internet from her phone throughout the brief visit.</p><p>“I looked back up and Gary was on the ground and Kadrian was coming back to the car,” she told the court.</p><p>She said she saw Hamilton get back in the car and put a gun on his lap before pulling away from the home.</p><p>Richard McGinley employed Hill to do maintenance work on the farm. McGinley described for the jury what he witnessed in 2011 at the farm, which is located in the 5000 block of Southwest County Road 484. He said he heard several popping noises and when he looked towards Hill's residence he saw a young black male run from the back of Hill's house and get into the driver's side of a maroon colored car and speed off down CR 484 heading east.</p><p>McGinley found Hill on the back patio.</p><p>“He was laying on his side and he was kinda gurgling,” McGinley testified. “Basically, he had three different colored bloods just gushing out of him.”</p><p>“It was a pretty gruesome sight, kinda traumatic,” McGinley said. “Looked like he had a bullet protruding from his forehead.”</p><p>Hill, age 50 at that time, had been shot four times.</p><p>McGinley called 911 and Hill was air-lifted from the farm to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where he was placed on life support. He was released about three months later.</p><p>On cross examination, Johnson elicited from McGinley that it was not uncommon for Hill to ingest alcohol. Johnson alluded to the fact that Hill's recollection of the morning's events could have been cloudy due to a night of drinking.</p><p>On cross examination of Hill, Johnson pressed him as to why, if he gave the incorrect perpetrator's name to authorities, he didn't correct his statement.</p><p>“I don't know why I didn't call them. I was really scared about everything that happened anyway,” Hill said in a low southern drawl.</p><p>Shell casings were found close to the patio, but Johnson said the technician could not tell from her work on the case what type of firearm they had come from or if they were fired from the same weapon.</p><p>The state believes Hamilton borrowed the maroon car from Crandall's mother, Julie Shartzer.</p><p>Shartzer took the stand and testified about giving Hamilton permission to use her 2001 maroon two-door Chrysler Sebring that morning and asking him to return it shortly because she had work.</p><p>On cross examination, Johnson pointed out that Shartzer didn't remember giving Hamilton the keys and didn't hear the vehicle leave or return.</p><p>Troy Rice, Shartzer's boyfriend, testified to noticing a change in behavior in Hamilton after the shooting occurred, saying he noticed that a typically laid back Hamilton seemed agitated and in a hurry.</p><p>Rice said Hamilton asked him for a ride into downtown Ocala and said they talked on the way.</p><p>“He asked that we drop his belongs off at his mother's house,” Rice testified. “He stated that we need to clean out the garage and park the car in it for a few days.”</p><p>During the day, Hamilton, clad in a lavender dress shirt, purple tie and dark slacks, sat quietly next to Johnson. He fidgeted with his hands, leaned back and smiled when his relatives took the stand, and covered his face from a photographer's lens.</p><p>Closing arguments and jury deliberations are expected this morning.</p><p><i>Contact April Warren at 867-4065 or april.warren@ocala.com.</i></p>